Chilly, misty morning

[Donald]

First frost of the year on the cars this morning. The perfect time to get out and about nice and early around my home village.

Your comment and critique always welcome.



40D, 70-200mm f/4L IS @ 135mm. ISO100. 1/125@f11.

[saea501]

A really nice picture, Donald. But I'll say I'm glad I no longer have to deal with frost and snow.

[Tony M]

Hi Donald.

It's a very nice photo. I like the gentle slope of the ground, and how the slope of the hedge matches that of the tree line. The slight vertical frame gives a sensation of space, and the emptiness of the sky balances nicely with the trees and paddocks below. A nice composition.

One comment or rather question is the blending of the top of the trees into the whiteness of the sky. Does it portray low cloud or mist? No doubt you have explored this area during your development; another option would be to have more contrast between the tree and sky. I tried this on your photo and strangely I had to REDUCE contrast to obtain more definition. Can anyone explain that?

Regards

Tony

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[Donald]

...more contrast between the tree and sky. I tried this on your photo and strangely I had to REDUCE contrast to obtain more definition. Can anyone explain that?

Not sure I can explain that one.

I like the gentle slope of the ground, and how the slope of the hedge matches that of the tree line. The slight vertical frame ...

That's for that comment. I think you'll find that rather than having any vertical orientation, then picture is square; i.e. a 1:1 ratio.

Does it portray low cloud or mist? ... another option would be to have more contrast between the tree and sky.

Yes, it was a very misty morning. A minute before this and a couple of minutes afterwards, you couldn't see the trees at all. For me, the essence of the image was the low contrast in terms of the trees and the mist behind them. And, again for me, putting more contrast into it would kill this image. It would make a different picture and one that might be okay, but it would not be the picture I saw in my head when I captured the photograph.

[Tony M]

It is indeed square. But I had to look at the image details to tell me; visually it looked like a slightly vertical frame. It was certainly a well-timed capture.

[Geoff F]

Good clear foreground gradually merging into the foggy distant trees; which all works well.

There may be an alternative slightly tighter crop from the bottom but probably just a case of personal taste.

[Mike Buckley]

I like how the vegetation at the fence line anchors the image. The specular highlights in the foreground probably caused by moisture reflecting the light are a bit much for me. Consider trying less sharpening in that area of the image.

[Donald]

Thanks again.

Consider trying less sharpening in that area of the image.

Mike, there's actually no sharpening at all, other than the final output sharpen. The effect is all picked up through having used the 'Film Noir 3' preset on Silver Efex Pro as my starting point. I wound back a lot of the default settings on the preset. But I chose not to apply any capture or creative sharpening, to, I hoped, keep the soft 'mood'. But I take your point.

[Mike Buckley]

Maybe the only thing to keep the soft mood in the foreground is to reduce the contrast in that area. I've never tried it in this particular situation so I really don't know. Using a polarizer filter would reduce the specular highlights but at least some of them might be necessary to convey the feeling of frost.

[Donald]

Maybe the only thing to keep the soft mood in the foreground is to reduce the contrast in that area. I've never tried it in this particular situation so I really don't know. Using a polarizer filter would reduce the specular highlights but at least some of them might be necessary to convey the feeling of frost.

Mike (and others) - What say you?

[Mike Buckley]

That treatment works really well for me. It preserves sufficient detail while retaining the same mood in that area that is evident in the rest of the image.

[bnnrcn]

I like the edit

[deetheturk]

+1 to Mike's comments, nice capture!

David